2000
#75,219
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 239
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Suchman
A surname of German or Ashkenazic Jewish origin meaning "seeker" or "explorer".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 268 Americans carry the last name Suchman. That puts it at #85,854 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,278,934 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Suchman surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
268
1 in 1,278,934
Census rank
#85,854
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
234
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 234 bearers of the surname Suchman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 85854th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Suchman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Suchman
The surname Suchman is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German words "such" meaning "search" and "man" meaning "person." It is believed to have originated in the 14th century as an occupational surname for a seeker or searcher.
In its earliest recorded instances, the name appeared as variations like Sucheman, Suchmann, and Suchman in various German regions. One of the earliest documented mentions of the name can be found in the records of the city of Cologne from the year 1387, where a certain Heinreich Suchman is listed as a resident.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Suchman surname began to spread beyond Germany to other parts of Europe. In 1612, a Johann Suchman is recorded as having settled in the Netherlands, possibly fleeing religious persecution. Around the same time, the name also appeared in records from the Bohemian region of what is now the Czech Republic.
One notable bearer of the Suchman name was Hans Suchman (1562-1628), a German theologian and author who wrote extensively on Protestant teachings. Another was Johann Suchman (1678-1741), a Bohemian composer known for his sacred works.
As immigrants from German-speaking regions of Europe began arriving in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Suchman surname made its way to the New World. One of the earliest recorded instances was that of Jacob Suchman, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1754.
Other notable individuals with the Suchman surname include:
1. George Suchman (1900-1965), an American sociologist and pioneer in the field of public opinion research.
2. Lucy Suchman (born 1944), an American anthropologist and researcher in the field of human-computer interaction.
3. Edward Suchman (1907-1971), an American psychologist and advertising researcher.
4. Juliet Suchman (born 1966), a British actress known for her roles in television series like "Benidorm" and "Humans."
5. Julius Suchman (1846-1925), a German-American businessman and co-founder of the Suchman Shoe Company in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suchman
Among Census respondents with the surname Suchman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Suchman bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Suchman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 213
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 13
- Two or more races2.1% · 5
- Black or African American0.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Suchman
Suchman appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#82,317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 229
-10 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 7,098 places
2020
#85,854
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 234
+5 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 3,537 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #75,219 | 239 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #82,317 | 229 | 0.08 | -10 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 7,098 places |
| 2020 | #85,854 | 234 | 0.08 | +5 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 3,537 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Suchman surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #82,317 | #85,854 | -4.3% |
| Count | 229 | 234 | 2.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.08 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Suchman bearers went from 229 to 234 (+2.2% change). The surname moved down 3,537 positions in the national ranking, going from #82,317 to #85,854.
FAQ
Suchman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Suchman?
Name Census estimates that about 268 living Americans carry the surname Suchman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,278,934 residents.
How common is Suchman?
Suchman ranks #85,854 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 234 people with the surname Suchman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Suchman.
Has Suchman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Suchman went from 229 recorded bearers to 234. That is an increase of 5 (+2.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #82,317 to #85,854.
What does the Census say about the background of Suchman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Suchman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Suchman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (213 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Suchman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Hispanic (5.6%), Two or More Races (2.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Suchman (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Suchman mean?
A surname of German or Ashkenazic Jewish origin meaning "seeker" or "explorer". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Suchman (0.08 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Suchman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Suchman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.